Found
by FlatOutCrazy
Summary: One night, Luis takes a walk in the woods by Eden Hall and finds a lost little boy. He finds himself in a little too deep taking care of a four-year-old boy. Complete.
1. Benched

Found 

            Luis Mendoza was in a very bad mood.  He was benched.  Benched because of grades.  Not cool.  One lousy F on a test, and his grades had steadily dropped.  All of them.  He had straight D's in every single class.  He had just endured a phone call from his mom, followed by a good stern talking to by his dad, ending with a meeting with the dean.  And he still had to face the team.  Although, in all truth, he hadn't been playing in the games to face much anyway.  He spent most of his time on the bench.  And now he might as well secure his plans with that piece of wood, because he wasn't going to be leaving it for as long as it took him to raise his grades.  And he was too proud to accept a tutor, though the dean had thrown a few names at him.  He was expected to go to breakfast, go to class, go to practice, go to dinner, go back to his dorm, and go nowhere else for the rest of the night.  How fun.  Oh, and on hearing of his benching, his girlfriend, Sarah, had dumped him.  **A/N, not the cheerleader at the end of D3.**

"Hey guys," Luis said quietly, walking into the locker room.  A few accusing eyes followed him.  Adam had seen him being yelled at in the dean's office, but didn't know what about.  Then Charlie came up, put his face right up to Luis's, and said,

          "You got something to tell us?  Orion said you did."

          "Uh, yeah.  Um, guys…I, uh, I'm gonna be benched for…I don't know how long."  There was an angry murmuring.

          "Why?" was the general question.

          "Well, ya know, the dean has this silly idea that you should keep you're grades up…" he gave a weak smile and laugh.  Julie glared at him.

          "Why didn't you ask for help?  I would've helped you!"  Luis hung his head.

          "I just didn't want to bother any one.  It won't be for very long, guys, really.  I only have to raise, well, two grades, one according to school rules but two according to Orion's rules."  Then he kept his eyes down and got dressed quickly and quietly, wishing he's kept his grades up so his team wouldn't have to hate him.

**A/N Sorry it's so short.  I'm still getting used to this uploading thing.**


	2. Matthew

***A/N I would love your reviews!**

Oh and I don't own the Ducks, they belong to Disney.  And I noticed in the last chapter there were some mistakes that I'm too lazy to fix…;-) So anyway, review and I'll be you're best friend! *

After practice, Luis did his homework like a good little boy.  There was still about a half hour until dinner, so he decided to take a walk in the woods.  He set his watch alarm so he could get to dinner on time.  No sense in making the team any angrier with him.  He hesitated a little before leaving his dorm.  He wasn't exactly supposed to leave campus grounds on any circumstances, especially not when he was already in trouble.  But he pushed that thought away.  He needed to clear his mind, and nature always helped him.  Back home he used to sit in the dunes at the beach for hours.

          He immediately relaxed as soon as he stepped into the cover of the trees.  There were birds chirping, he could hear the wind in the trees, and everything was just plain _green_.  This was like heaven after being shut in school all day long and the rink afterwards.  The rink was great, it wasn't exactly prison, but sometimes he just had to get away.  Luis's mom said he'd always loved being outside, by himself, no matter how the weather was or how old he was.

          Luis had been walking for about fifteen minutes, not sure where he was going, but leaving a trail of rocks just in case—though he wasn't sure how he'd tell his rock trail from the rocks just lying on the forest floor.  Suddenly he heard what sounded like a sniffle.  _What the heck was that?_  His body had tensed immediately.  It was getting dark under the canopy, and despite himself he felt a little prick of fear.  He berated himself, since it had sounded like some one crying.  How scary could a sad person be?

          "Hello?" he called out softly.

          "Hello?" a little voice answered back.  "I'm up here."  Luis craned his neck upwards, towards the trees, baffled.  A big pair of green eyes stared back at him.  Their owner was a little boy coated in dirt.  He was so dirty Luis couldn't even tell what color his hair was.

          "What are you doing up there, little guy?"  Luis was concerned.  What was a little kid doing up in a tree?

          "Hiding."  That made Luis smile.

          "Well, do you want to come down?"  A nod.  "Okay, just jump down and I'll catch you."  Sensing the little boy's hesitance, he added, "It's okay, I'm pretty strong.  I play hockey."  He held his arms out and the trusting little boy jumped into them.

          "What's your name?" Luis asked.

          "Matthew."  There was a little sniff.  "And I'm lost!"  Matthew broke into a wail.

          "Hey, Matthew, don't worry, I'll help you find where you need to go.  I'm Luis.  Are you hungry?" he asked as his alarm went off.  "We've got ten minutes to get to dinner, but maybe we should get you cleaned up first."  Then the little boy, Matthew, rested his head on Luis's shoulder, and they made their way to Eden Hall's dorm rooms.


	3. Dinner With the Ducks

Luis took Matthew up to the dorms.  Glancing at his watch, he realized he wouldn't have time to give the little boy a bath, so they settled with washing his hair and face.  The water revealed blond hair and fair skin with a dusting of freckles sprinkled lightly like snow over Matthew's nose.  He was absolutely adorable, even a guy could see that.

            "So, Matthew, how old are you?"  Luis asked as they walked down to dinner.  The halls were empty, because they were about ten minutes late.  The little boy had slipped his hand comfortably into Luis's, and it felt good.

            "Four," came his little voice, and he emphasized his point by holding up four fingers on his free hand.  "What's for dinner?" he added shyly.

            "Umm, you know, I have no idea.  Lets see…Wednesday, I think it's some sort of stew or something."  Luis suddenly wished he'd paid attention to Goldberg's rants about the food at Eden Hall.

            "Oh, yummy, I guess."  Matthew sounded like he didn't care if it was dog food, as long as it was food.

            "When was the last time you ate?"  Luis realized that he didn't know how long Matthew had been 'hiding' or lost.

            "Yesterday."

            "You must be starving!"

            "Yeah," Matthew admitted.

            "Well, I'll make sure you get extra whatever it is we're eating," Luis promised.

            "Thanks, Weese!"  Matthew exclaimed, like it was the nicest gesture anyone had made towards him.  Maybe it was.  Luis liked the way Matthew said his name.  He couldn't quite pronounce 'Luis', so they had to make do with 'Weese'.  When they finally reached the cafeteria, Luis quickly located the team and headed over to them.  Matthew was suddenly shy.

            "What's the matter?"  Luis whispered to him.

            "Are they gonna be mean?"  Matthew was close to tears.

            "No way," Luis said confidently.  "And if they are, I'll beat them up."  He said this knowing they would be nice, because if they weren't, Luis surely wouldn't be able to beat up many of them.  Ken, maybe.  Fulton, definitely not.  And Portman?  Just thinking of trying to beat Portman up caused Luis pain.  Matthew smiled.  They reached the table.

            "Hey guys.  Uh, this is Matthew."  Suddenly Luis realized how weird this must seem.  It wasn't like he was introducing some new kid.  This little guy's head was barely poking over the top of the table.

            "Oh, he's sooo cute!"  Julie squealed.

            "Why thank you!"  Luis joked.

            "Look at his little freckles!"  Connie added.  Both girls ignored Luis's wisecrack.  He pretended to be wounded.

            "Hey man, you're stealing my girls!"  Luis said to Matthew in mock anger.  But he smiled so Matthew would know he was kidding.  A hesitant smile formed dimples on the little boy's face.  The guys were just staring at Luis.

            "Um, Luis, is there something you'd like to share?"  Averman cracked.  Luis shot him a withering glance.

            "Well, I was taking a little walk, and I found him in a tree.  He was hiding."  Luis heard how lame that sounded.  But hey, it was the truth.  "Honestly!" he said, noting the team's skeptical looks.

            "Okay…but what are you going to do with him?"  Portman, always a little intimidating, spoke up, making Matthew melt into Luis's side.

            "Uh, I haven't really thought about it."  Suddenly, it hit Luis.  He had classes and practice to go to, and Matthew couldn't really tag along to his Calculus class.

            "Well, maybe you can work something out with the dean."  Ken offered.  Matthew was looking intently at every speaker, and Ken was the other one who smiled at him.  Matthew felt more confident and smiled back.  As his smile got bigger, his dimples grew, and Julie and Connie started fawning over him again.

            "Well, I'm gonna get some dinner for me and Matthew," Luis said.  "But I don't think he should come in line with me.  Can you guys keep an eye on him?"  Matthew looked scared.  "It's okay, buddy.  I'll be right back with a big bowl of, uh," he looked to Goldberg.

            "Chicken soup," the goalie presented.

            "A big bowl of chicken soup," Luis finished.  "Doesn't that sound great?"  Matthew's stomach gave an audible growl.  He nodded and said,

            "Hurry!"  His cute little voice sent the girls into peals of delight.  Guy rolled his eyes.

            "I seem to have lost my girlfriend to that little munchkin."  But he didn't seem mad.  Matthew was just standing there, looking after Luis like a lost kitten.  "Hey, Matthew, do you want to sit down?"  Guy looked kind, so Matthew nodded silently.  Charlie pulled out a chair.

            "You can sit right here."  Matthew looked at where he would be sitting, between Charlie and Guy.

            "What about Weese?" he asked.  It was a second before anyone could work out what he was saying.  It was Dwayne, oddly enough.

            "Oh, well, why don't you come sit by me, so Luis can sit right next to you, little cowpoke," he said.  Matthew liked his country twang and climbed into the chair next to Dwayne.  Russ was looking at the Texan like he'd suddenly sprouted a broccoli tree out of his ears.

            "How did you figure out what he was saying?"  Russ asked.  "You can't even tell what we're saying, and we talk the same way you do.  Most the time anyway."

            "Oh, he talks just like my little cousin, Joe!  You get used to it after a while."  Just then Luis got back with Matthew's soup, but none for himself.

            "Weese, aren't you gonna eat?"  Matthew asked, already stuffing his little mouth with thick noodles and big chunks of poultry.

            "No, I'm not hungry," Luis lied.  Actually, he was famished, but the lunch lady would only give him one bowl, even though he offered to pay for three bowls just for two.  He figured Matthew needed the food more than he did.  But Adam realized what had happened.  Since the cafeteria lady was his friend's aunt, he was able to get another bowl of soup for Luis           "Thanks, man," Luis sad gratefully, eating the soup while it was still hot.

            "No problem.  Ducks fly together, after all."  Adam grinned at him.  Matthew looked up.

            "Ducks?" he asked.  "Where are some duckies?"

**Stupid ending for a chapter, I know.  But I'm tired and this chapter was getting long—three pages.  So how do you like it?  Tell me, I can take it!**


	4. Nightmares

After telling Matthew the whole story of the Ducks, with the team's help, Luis took him back to the dorm. On their way out, they were met by Cole and Riley. They didn't even notice Matthew at first.  
"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Mr. Unstoppable." Riley was still resentful at Luis for stealing Cindy (?) from him. A/N: Weren't there two names, Mindy and Cindy? I don't know her name so that's what it's going to be.  
"Look, Riley, just back off, okay?" Luis really didn't feel like fighting right then.  
"What? No smart comebacks?" Cole couldn't get his little brain around the fact that Luis didn't seem to be fighting back.  
"Weese, who are they?" Matthew asked.  
"Just some big losers. Forget about them." Luis stooped down to Matthew's level, ignoring Cole and Riley, who had just noticed Matthew.  
"Who's this, your son?" Luis fought the urge to roll his eyes.  
"Yes, he's my son. That's why he's white, blond, and four years old." Sometimes he should really keep those sarcastic remarks to himself.  
"Oh, now you're all 'witty', huh?" Cole looked very menacing, all big and with his fist pulled back like that. Out of nowhere, Matthew ran up and kicked Cole in the shin. He had a mean kick. While Cole yelped and grabbed his shin, Luis snatched Matthew up and took off at a sprint. He was cracking up, which was really making it a little hard to run. Matthew wasn't that hard to carry-he was barely heavier than Luis's hockey bag. They ran into Fulton.  
"Umm, Luis? Why are you running away and laughing like an idiot?"  
"Huh? Oh, we had a little run-in with Riley and Blockhead." Luis told him.  
"Okay, that explains the running, but most people aren't laughing after that." Fulton maybe would be, but Luis usually came out steamed as a sauna.  
"Well, they can't hurt me. Not with Matthew here to protect me!" Luis started laughing again, and Matthew had a very proud look on his face.  
"I went boom and he said 'Oww!' and then Weese started running with me." Matthew explained. He demonstrated without actually kicking Fulton. But the Bash Brother got the picture and started laughing too. He gave Matthew a high five. They split off to their rooms.  
"All right. How are we going to do this?" Luis wondered aloud. He needed to figure out some sleeping arrangements. "You're small, I guess we could fit into my bed. That okay with you?" Matthew nodded. "Okay then! You got some pajamas?" Stupid question. Where would he be hiding them, his pockets? "I'm guessing no. Well.what can we do about that?" He was digging through his drawers, coming across his Team USA jersey. "Is this okay?" Matthew nodded, and a huge yawn split his face. Just then, Luis's roommate, Josh, walked in. He seemed very surprised to find a little boy in their room.  
"Hey, Josh. This is Matthew. He's gonna stay with us tonight. Maybe longer. He's just gonna bunk with me tonight."  
"Uh, yeah. Sure," Josh said, staring at the little boy like he'd never seen a person that small before.  
"Tomorrow we're going to have to get you some more clothes." Luis told Matthew. The little boy's eyes were drooping. Luis handed him the jersey. "So.just go in the bathroom and put this on." He wasn't sure of Matthew knew how to dress himself. Matthew nodded and went to the bathroom. He emerged a minute later holding his clothes in his hands.  
"What about my clothes?" he asked drowsily. Luis took the bundle, looked around, confused, shrugged, and plopped them on the ground. Matthew was already curled up under the covers, almost asleep.  
"G'night, Weese." He said.  
"'Night Matty." Luis stripped down to his boxers (wouldn't you like to see that!), brushed his teeth, and climbed into bed, careful not to wake the already sleeping Matthew.  
  
A few hours later, Luis was woken by a scream. He sat straight up, yelling, "What?" It took him a minute to realize the screaming was coming not only from his room, but his bed. He remembered Matthew and looked frantically around for him.  
"Matthew? Matthew, what's wrong? Why are you screaming?!" Matthew was clinging to Luis's side painfully tight.  
"I had a bad dream," Matthew sobbed. Luis rubbed his eyes.  
"What's going on?" Josh mumbled.  
"Nothing, you can go back to sleep. He had a nightmare, that's all." A snore told him Josh didn't really care. Matthew was still crying.  
"Hey, man, it's okay. It was just a dream," Luis said, awkwardly rubbing Matthew's back. He wasn't used to this. Matthew's sobs died down, but he was still breathing heavily.  
"Weese, will you keep me safe?" This seemed like a strange question to Luis, but he figured it was the after-effects of the dream.  
"Of course I will. No one can hurt you if you've got me here, okay?" Matthew nodded. "Now, go back to sleep. It's okay, I'm right here, Matthew." As Matthew drifted away, he murmured,  
"Matty." Luis grinned and whispered,  
"Okay, Matty."  
  
The next morning, Luis was very tired. There had been two more bad dreams, resulting in Matthew waking up screaming. It wasn't easy to sleep through that. And the adrenaline pumping through Luis after the screams kept him awake for, like, half an hour extra.  
"Luis, you look terrible!" Ken exclaimed at breakfast when Luis walked up with Matthew.  
"Gee, thanks." Luis replied. "Matthew kinda had a hard night." Matthew looked ashamed. "Hey, nothing to worry about, Matty. It's fine, okay? Don't feel bad, everyone has bad dreams." The little boy seemed comforted. Julie smiled at Luis.  
"Wow, you're pretty good at this," she said, sounding surprised. Luis shrugged.  
"I just do what I think he needs," he answered, too tired to care how lame that sounded. Then Portman got a little jealous that Julie was paying so much attention to Luis, and put his arm around her to make her pay attention to him. She rolled her eyes at him. Yes, they're paired for this story. Since it was Saturday, lots of people were sleeping late, but there were plenty of people giving Luis and Matthew strange looks as they walked out of the cafeteria.  
"Okay, Matty, we gotta get you some clothes. The ones you're wearing are starting to smell." Luis discreetly checked his wallet. Not much there. So he checked his sock drawer, where he kept his spare cash. Not much there, either. All in all, he had about twenty bucks to but Matthew some clothes. That hardly seemed like enough. Luis was just wondering what to do when Adam walked in.  
"Hey, Luis, did Matthew bring any clothes with him? I just realized that he was wearing the same clothes as yesterday."  
"Nope. I was just getting ready to take him to get some clothes." Luis was grateful Adam was there. He would take one look and over some money. And Luis wouldn't feel too bad about borrowing money from Adam, because Adam had enough money that he could just throw it around.  
"Do you need some money?" Adam was already pulling out his wallet.  
"No, I've got some." Adam looked at the crumpled bills in Luis's hand. Even from far away, he could see that there was a one five and the rest were ones. He opened his fancy leather wallet.  
"Luis, you have like ten dollars."  
"Hey, it's twenty," Luis said, lamely defensive. Adam pulled open Luis's fist and shoved another twenty into it.  
"Buy him some good clothes, all right?" He joked.  
"You got it, Banksie."  
Luis had no idea where to get clothes for Matthew. They went to the mall, but Luis wasn't sure where to go. Was he small enough to get clothes at Baby Gap? He sure wasn't big enough to get anything at any stores Luis ever went to. He decided they would head to Baby Gap, and if there wasn't anything there for Matthew, they would just walk through the stores until they found the right place. Luckily, Matthew fit into clothes at Baby Gap, so they didn't have to keep wandering around. Luis had him try on a shirt and a pair of shorts, and then used the sizes to buy more clothes. Basically, they went home with a bag of little jeans and t-shirts. When Luis tried to pick out some pajamas, Matthew seemed reluctant.  
"Don't you like any of these pajamas?" Luis asked. He would have loved these as a kid. Heck, he liked some of them now.  
"Yes, but.." Matthew mumbled something. All Luis could make out was "jersey."  
"Ohhh, I get it. You just wanna wear my jersey?" Matthew nodded, happy.  
"So I can be just like Weese." Luis had to admit, he liked the way Matthew made him feel. He was starting to feel like a big brother, and he liked that. 


	5. Practice

There was a team practice at four, and Luis and Matthew didn't leave the mall until 3:30. Luis was showing Matthew around, buying him snacks and lunch and toys and a little Spongebob Squarepants backpack and coloring book. Traffic was so bad they didn't back to school until 4:05. They had to run up to the dorm to put away their purchases and Luis had to grab his gear. By the time Luis was changed and hit the ice, he was fifteen minutes late. That would not put him in a soft spot in Orion's heart. Still, he ignored the team and the coach and didn't even go out to meet the team until Matthew was situated. And then, when he finally got there, Orion didn't seem mad at all.  
"How was your doctor's appointment, Luis?" Orion asked. Luis was confused, but Adam was raising his eyebrows and nodding inconspicuously. Adam had covered for him.  
"Oh, just fine, thanks," Luis answered quickly.  
"All right. Well since you couldn't really help if the doctor was late, I guess you only have to do four extra laps. But next time, please tell me ahead of time." Only four--gee thanks. Luis thought sarcastically. But hey, it was better than forty. He nodded and joined the team. Hopefully Matthew would be able to wait a little longer for him to skate his extra laps. If practice wasn't too hard, he could finish quickly. But, if it was too brutal, he might be too tired. He was already exhausted, just from lack of sleep and the whole mall excursion. Through sprints, Luis was, as usual, way ahead of everyone. And he only crashed three times. Those three times, he could hear wild giggles coming from Matthew's place in the stands. He looked up and gave Matthew a fake glare. That made him laugh harder.  
"Mendoza, come here," Orion called. Skating over, Luis was afraid he was going to get in trouble. "Who is that little boy?"  
"Oh, that's Matthew. He's, well, he's this boy I.I found. Out in the woods, while I was taking a walk. He doesn't seem to want to go home." Luis suddenly decided to ask Matthew about what had happened, if he'd run away or what.  
"You were taking a walk off campus?" Uh-oh. Busted.  
"Um, yes," Luis said, a little flinch in his voice and on his face.  
"Talk to me after practice."  
"I have laps."  
"After your laps, then." Great. Luis had planned on talking to the dean. That would have to wait, then. He had all day Sunday, anyway. Luis struggled and sweated through practice. No one else seemed to be having as much trouble, not even Goldberg. Luis vowed to get to bed early that night. Though, that might mean even more bad dreams, if there was more sleeping time. After his four laps, he decided it was worth the risk.  
"You know you're not supposed to leave campus on week days." Orion surely didn't beat around the bush.  
"Well, technically it wasn't a week day. It was Friday night, before dinner, so it's not like I was cutting class or skipping curfew." A little drop of sweat slid down Luis's nose. He wondered what Matthew was doing. Probably playing with his new dinosaurs Luis had bought him. He'd promised to stay exactly where Luis had left him.  
"Luis, are you listening to me?" Luis hated it when people asked that. If you have to ask then that person probably isn't listening. Wouldn't you know if they were?  
"No, sorry." His mom had taught him never to lie, even to get out of trouble. He couldn't count how many times he's heard her sharp voice say, "Are you lying to me? Do I need to scrub those lies out of your mouth?" He's learned fast that ivory soap is pretty gross.  
"As I was saying, you need to talk to the dean. He needs to go home. That little boy's parents are probably panicked."  
"But he left for a reason. They must not have been very good to him if he wanted to leave." That thought had suddenly dawned on Luis as it left his mouth. If they had hurt him-  
"Luis, please, kids are always running away for no reason. Didn't you ever run away over something small?" How could Orion plead the case of those goons? Didn't he realize that no one had the right to hurt any little kid, especially not Matthew?  
That night, as they were brushing their teeth together, Luis asked Matthew about his past.  
"So, Matty, why were you in the woods?" Matthew tensed immediately.  
"I was hiding."  
"You told me that, but who were you hiding from?" Luis didn't like the way Matthew seemed nervous.  
"Orphanage lady." Matthew had been in an orphanage? Luis suddenly had the vision of Matthew dancing around with Little Orphan Annie, singing 'It's A Hard Knock Life' in the halls of a big, drafty orphanage.  
"Why were you hiding from the orphanage lady, Matty? Did she hurt you?" Matthew's eyes grew big.  
"N-no. It was the other lady. Ms. Williams, she, she-" he broke off crying.  
"Hey. Look, Matty, I don't know what happened, but I'll make sure Ms. Williams never comes near you again, got it? You're going to be okay now, all right?" Matthew gulped, nodding. "Okay. Now lets finish brushing our teeth and get to bed. Maybe we can watch a movie, if Josh doesn't mind." A small smile shivered onto Matthew's face as he gave Luis a big hug.  
"I knew you'd keep me safe, Weese."  
"That's right, 'cause I promised, remember?" Matthew nodded solemnly as he finished rinsing his mouth.  
"I remember," he whispered.  
  
In the middle of the night, Luis was woken up. Not by screams this time. Matthew was shaking his arm.  
"Weese. Weese, wake up!"  
"Whatsamatter? Are you okay?"  
"I had a accident." Matthew was on the verge of tears. Huh? That's when Luis noticed how wet it was under the covers.  
"Oh, please, tell me it's not what I think. Please, please, please, no!" Luis whispered frantically. But it was. Matthew was crying, and Luis felt like joining him. "It's okay, really, look, we'll.we'll have a campout on the floor, okay? We'll both wash off and change and then go back to bed." He had to pull out his Ducks jersey for Matthew. It took a little convincing, but Matthew agreed when Luis showed him it was the same number and had the same name on the back. This was so not what he'd bargained for when he put Matthew in bed with him.  
  
"Luis, are you in there? You're gonna miss all of breakfast if you don't get up soon!" The door swung open, and the same insistent voice cried in disgust, "Oh, man, it smells horrible in here!"  
"Yeah, it does! Gross, what is that?" Luis's eyes stirred.  
"Wha? Why am I on the floor? What are you guys doing here?" All the Ducks were in his room, which meant the whole team, even the girls, was looking at him. On the floor. In his boxers. The whole night came back to him in a smash.  
"Oh, Matthew."  
"He wet the bed, didn't he?" Russ yelled. Matthew looked like he was about to cry. Luis sent him a silencing look.  
"It's not a big deal." He defended his little buddy. "I wet the bed until I was seven years old!" That was embarrassing to admit, but he did it for Matthew's sake. He would do anything if it would help Matthew. 


	6. Meeting Ms Williams

Since they had the whole day, Luis decided to teach Matthew to skate. And maybe play hockey, if he wanted. But he didn't know anybody who had skates small enough for Matthew. They went to the public rink and rented tiny little skates for Matthew. Luis wore his own.  
"Okay, Matty. Have you ever gone roller-blading?" Matthew shook his head. "All right." Luis thought for a minute. "Well, just glide one foot in front of the other. Yeah! Like that! Man, you're a natural Matty!" Matthew beamed.  
"Weese, look, I'm doing it!" He was squealing with delight.  
"You sure are, buddy. Good job!" Suddenly, somebody went whizzing by, knocking Matthew over. It was Luis's ex-girlfriend, Sarah. With a careless look over her shoulder, she called,  
"Oh, sorry," and kept skating, until she noticed that Luis was there. But by the time she turned around and came back, Luis was kneeling on the ice, giving Matthew a hug, making sure he was okay. He was a little shook up and his knee hurt, but he bravely said,  
"Let's keep skating, Weese!" He sounded excited, despite his fall.  
"Hello, Luis!" Sarah said flirtatiously.  
"Hi," he answered absently. He was watching Matthew. "Good job! You got it!" He called, flashing his little friend a thumbs-up. Matthew skated over to Sarah.  
"Hi!" he yelled exuberantly, his cheeks pink with excitement. "I'm Matthew!" Sarah gave him a fake smile.  
"That's nice. Run along, Matthew, I'm trying to talk to Luis." That made Luis mad. Shy little Matthew was sweet enough to introduce himself, ad it was clear he was hurt by the way she blew him off.  
"Actually, I'd rather talk to Matthew." He said. Matthew smiled and took Luis's hand.  
"But, Luis, I want us to get back together!" She tried to press herself up against him, but Matthew was in the way. Sarah glared at him. Any other time, Luis would've taken her back in a heartbeat. But after the way she'd treated Matthew, he felt like she wasn't a very good person.  
"I don't share the same sentiments." He said, as tactfully as he could. She glared at him for a minute, then said coolly,  
"Fine then! I can do so much better than you anyway!" And she skated off. But Luis didn't feel bad about it. He skated off with Matthew, feeling very happy.  
  
Luis took his sheets down to the laundry room, hoping no one saw him carrying wet blankets. While the sheets were in the washer, he tried talking to Matthew again.  
"So, Matty. Who is this Ms. Williams?" He hated to ask; because it was obvious Matthew didn't like talking about his life.  
"She wants to adopt me. But I don't want her to!" Matthew's lower lip was trembling.  
"Well, why don't you tell the, uh, orphanage lady?" Luis didn't know the orphanage lady's name.  
"I did! She said I didn't get to choose!"  
"What? Of course you should choose! It's your life!" Now Luis was really getting ticked. How could these people do this to kids?  
"She-she hit me!" Luis couldn't think of anything he could do right then, though there were a bunch of things he wanted to do to this lady. All he could think of to do was to pick Matthew up, hold him close, and promise to protect him forever. So he did. Just then, the door opened. It was the dean, with a grim look on his face. Oh no. Luis thought, feeling a sort of dread make his knees go weak.  
"Mr. Mendoza, did you know you are at risk of being pressed for kidnapping charges?"  
"What?!" Luis couldn't believe what he was hearing. He saved Matthew from the woods and those awful people, and they were trying to punish him for it.  
"Come on in, Ms. Williams," the dean said, and at hearing that name, Luis felt anger boil over inside of him. A well-dressed woman walked in. Luis didn't like the smirk she was giving Matthew.  
"Oh, Matthew, I'm so glad you're okay!" She cried. Anyone, except the dean it seemed, would be able to tell she was a phony. Luis wanted to grab that lady, and hit her, and curse at her, and he'd never wanted to do that to a girl before. But she was such a fake, so cruel, and he could feel Matthew trembling. She held her arms out to take Matthew, but he didn't lean out of Luis's arms to go to her. And Luis didn't let go of him. He just gave Ms. Williams a cold look and snarled,  
"I'll hold him for now, thanks."  
"Why, Mr. Mendoza, how could you be so rude to Ms. Williams?" the dean asked, shocked.  
"I'd be more than rude to her if I could!" Luis spat out, glaring at the evil woman before him. She just smiled coyly at him.  
"Oh, I see. You've befriended this little boy haven't you?"  
"Yes, and he's the best little guy I've ever met, no thanks to you!" Luis needed to calm down, think straight, curb his anger, but he couldn't- all he could think of was this woman, this awful lady, had hit Matthew. And Luis wanted her to be punished for that.  
"He's a dirty rotten thief! He has no manners, and he is unbelievably spiteful. He's lucky I still want to adopt him!"  
"That's such a lie! He's the sweetest little kid I've ever met! The reason he'd be spiteful to you is because you hit him!" Luis was yelling at the top of his lungs.  
"See?! More lies! I can see why you got along with him so well! Both of you need to be taught manners! But I'm just sorry I don't have the power to teach you the rules you obviously need!" She was shrieking at a painful pitch, but that wasn't why his ears were ringing. "Now," she said, forcibly calm. "Give me the boy."  
"Never! Not if I was held at gunpoint! I wouldn't even give you a dog!" The dean decided to step in then.  
"Now Luis," he said in a calm voice. "She is his guardian. You must turn him over to her."  
"No." Luis answered flatly.  
"I'll take you to court!" Ms. Williams hissed.  
"Go ahead. But you're not getting Matthew. Not ever." Ms. Williams looked ready to explode. Her face was cherry red, and she was taking deep, steadying breaths. She spun on her heel and stormed out of the room. Her footsteps echoed down the silent halls. The dean turned to Luis.  
"Luis Mendoza! Do you realize what will happen if you are convicted? You will go to jail, you will be suspended, if not expelled, and you will be indefinitely benched. You won't even be on the team anymore."  
"I really don't care." And he didn't. Hockey, school, even going to jail, nothing mattered except Matthew. "All I care about is making sure Matthew never goes back to that horrible woman." And, still holding Matthew, leaving his sheets in the washer, he walked out of the room.  
  
Luis was boiling. He couldn't speak, couldn't think, couldn't even see straight. But he was suddenly brought back to life when he realized Matthew was crying.  
"Matty. Matty, look at me. You are not going back to that lady. Okay? Never." And he kept saying never over and over. To convince Matthew, and to convince himself.  
  
"Luis! Luis, are you okay?" The team, led by Charlie, was suddenly in front of him. He couldn't remember hearing footsteps approach him or walking anywhere. But he was outside, on the sloping school lawns, and he felt tears running down his face. "What's wrong?" Luis couldn't even talk to the team. It was Matthew who answered all the questions.  
"She's gonna take me away! And Weese got in big trouble. No more hockey!" Clearly, he hadn't understood the whole episode, but he knew the main points. Finally, Luis calmed enough to say,  
"It's only no more hockey if I get convicted." Guy gasped.  
"Convicted of what?" Charlie demanded.  
"This lady who," Luis had to take several deep breaths on thinking of Ms. Williams. "She wants to adopt Matthew but. But she hits him, and that's why he ran away, and now she's trying to press kidnapping charges against me because I told her I'd never turn Matthew over to her."  
His team just sort of gaped at him. Ken found his voice first.  
"Well, we'll help you!" He said. And there was a chorus of  
"Yeah!"  
"Of course!" Luis looked at his team.  
"Thanks guys. But if she wins, you'll have to help her, because I'll go after her." His voice was deadly serious. Russ gave a weak laugh. Luis didn't laugh with him.  
"You're serious, aren't you?" Luis just looked at him.  
"Yes," he answered quietly. "If she ever hurts Matthew again, she will pay."  
  
Whew! That was a long chapter! Okay, I know some of this fic is getting kinda cheesy, and this part is sort of.I dunno, weird. But I promise it'll have a happy ending-I'm just not sure what kind of happy it'll be or how soon it's coming. Don't forget to review!* 


	7. Court

The hearing was in two days. Until then, Luis was expected to go to class and retain as normal of a routine as possible. But he also had to get ready for court—make sure his suit was clean, call his mom (he was NOT looking forward to that!) and gather some evidence. He couldn't think of any evidence, except the fact that Matthew ran away. That had to count for something, right? But basically, aside from that, it was his word against Ms. Williams's. So, even though he was afraid it might cause more pain to Matthew, he had to ask if there were bruises or anything.  
"Um, Matty?" Luis asked delicately. Green eyes were raised to meet hazel. "Do you, do you have any, uh, any bruises or scars or scabs or anything? From Ms. Williams, I mean." Matthew took a deep breath and nodded. He lifted the leg of his pants. There was a giant, purple, swollen patch that Luis assumed was Matthew's knee.  
"Oh, man," he breathed. "How'd she do it?" Matthew's lip trembled.  
"Lamp."  
"She hit you with a lamp?" Nod. Luis took a deep breath. Hold it together. He got a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. "This is probably gonna hurt," he warned Matthew. "But it'll keep it clean." Matthew nodded bravely. Apparently he was well acquainted with the brown bottle. Luis's heart threatened to break as tears filled Matthew's eyes. He apologized over and over to Matthew, who nodded and said,  
"It's okay, Weese," in a grave, grown-up voice. Then Matthew smiled valiantly and said, "Can we go skate?" Luis nodded, lips pressed tightly together.  
"Whatever you want, buddy."  
  
"So, Matthew," the lawyer said, not very kindly. There was a hint of a sneer in his voice that made Luis's blood boil. "You say Ms. Williams hit you?" Matthew was shaking from head to toe, and he was close to tears, Luis could tell.  
"Yes," he whispered. The judge leaned over to talk to Matthew.  
"Can you be a little louder, son?" A quaver in his voice, Matthew repeated, "Yes." He caught Luis's eye and pleaded for help with a forlorn look. Luis bit his lip and shot Matthew a look of encouragement. Matthew squared his shoulders and looked the lawyer straight in the eye.  
"Do you wanna see my knee? Weese cleaned it up, but it's still real cool!" His lopsided, trusting grin brought a smile to everyone in the room. Except the lawyer and Ms. Williams. The judge nodded and Matthew rolled up his new pants. Though healed considerably, the wound was still swollen and discolored. There was an intake of breath throughout the room.  
"Now, how could Ms. Williams, a rather small woman, cause such damage?" Matthew shrunk under the glower the man was giving him.  
"Sh-she hit me w-with a lamp." A shudder ran through the little body sitting in that giant wooden chair, and Luis just wanted to jump up, run over, and hug Matthew. Next it was Luis's turn to be questioned. Matthew grabbed Luis's hand when they passed each other, Matthew on his way to his seat and Luis to the bench. Luis kneeled to Matthew's height and whispered,  
"You did good, Matty."  
"Your Honor, request to hear what it his he is saying. (I don't know if he can do that but lets say he can.) Luis gave him a dark look and said,  
"I was just saying he did a good job taking the mental abuse you dished to him. He was brave and did great. That's all I said." Luis's lawyer cleared his throat and gave Luis a warning look. For a case this important, Luis wanted the best lawyer there was. His lawyer also happened to be a pretty great hockey player. And coach, for that matter. He mumbled an apology to the court in general, then stepped up to the bench, gave the oath on the Bible, and sat down.  
"Mr. Luis Mendoza, how did you first come across the young man in question?" This sleazy guy might've scared Matthew, but Luis found him less than intimidating.  
"I was taking a walk through the woods by the school and I found him there. He was sitting in a tree, hiding."  
"Now, what school do you go to?"  
"Eden Hall Academy. And no, it's not a correctional facility. In case that's where you were heading with that question." Bombay stood up.  
"Your Honor, may I have a word with my client?" He was keeping a respectful look on his face, but Luis could tell he was edgy. At the judge's nod, he said,  
"Luis, you need to calm down. You're going to get us both into trouble if you can't harness that anger. Like your speed, right?" He gave a Luis a twinkling smile. "Just calm down, please?" Luis nodded.  
"It's just. Well, that guy, he was so mean to Matthew. How can I be respectful to someone like that?" Bombay nodded thoughtfully. Boy this kid had grown up a lot since they'd last seen each other.  
"Well, just think of it this way. If you're not careful, this protective anger could actually get in the way and end up hurting Matthew more. All right?" Luis took a deep breath and nodded, smiling. Just keep breathing, he thought. And keep your temper. For Matthew. The lawyer came back, smirking, amused by the little heart-to-heart that had gone on.  
"What did you do with Matthew?"  
"Well, I had to be at dinner, so I took him with me. I figured he'd be hungry."  
"Did you sit with friends?"  
"Yeah, with all my friends, the hockey team, we're called the Ducks."  
"How touching. Did they ask questions about the little boy you brought with you?  
"Yeah, they wanted to know who he was and why he was with me." Luis didn't see where this was going.  
"And what did you tell them?" Luis sorely wanted to wipe that smirk off that guy's face. Just reach up there and sock him, teach him a lesson—  
"Mr. Mendoza, answer the question."  
"Sorry. I told them the truth, I said I found him in a tree."  
"Can any of them confirm this?"  
"Uh, yeah." Duh, didn't he just say he'd told them?  
"Are any of your friends here?" Luis didn't even have to look. He knew.  
"Yeah, all of them are. They're right there," he said, pointing to the group of high-school kids wearing assorted hockey jerseys. Even Jesse was there to support a fellow Duck.  
"Shouldn't they be in school?" This lawyer seemed determined to prove that Luis and his friends were no good.  
"They got special passes from the dean to come." The lawyer dismissed Luis and called Averman to the stand. Averman's eyes widened, but he walked up.  
"Mr.--?"  
"Lester Averman."  
"Mr. Averman. You are friends with Luis Mendoza?" Averman nodded.  
"Okay. Were you present at the time Luis brought Matthew to dinner?"  
"Yes." Averman seemed really nervous. He was fidgeting and kept opening and closing his mouth. Apparently he was to flustered to speak in full sentences.  
"And how did Luis explain the little boy with him?"  
"Well, he said he found him in the woods." The lawyer looked disappointed. Obviously he'd wanted Averman to say Luis had lied on the stand.  
"Now, how good of friends are you and Mr. Mendoza?"  
"Uh, pretty good."  
"Good enough to—lie for him?"  
"Objection," Bombay said calmly.  
"Stop heckling the witness," the Judge commanded. There were some more questions, more witnesses, but then the judge said,  
"We'll take a recess for deliberation. All parties meet back for verdict in half and hour." Matthew ran over to Luis and crawled into his lap, just sitting there for comfort.  
"Weese?" He whispered.  
"Yeah, what is it, Matty?"  
"Am I gonna have to live with Ms. Williams?" Luis sighed and rested his head against Matthew's.  
"I hope not."  
"Can you teach me hockey?" Matthew's change of subject threw Luis off guard.  
"Sure, if you want," Luis said dubiously. How could he worry about hockey right now?  
"I want to…before I have to go." So. Matthew didn't think they had a chance. Luis felt like crying. Why was this happening?  
  
"Mr. Luis Mendoza is not found guilty of kidnapping." A breath slid out of Luis, deflating him. But what about Matthew?  
"Matthew will not go with Ms. Williams." YES! Matthew grinned and gave Luis a thumbs-up. Luis couldn't help laughing with sheer relief.  
"But he will go back to the orphanage." That stopped him quick.  
"Wh-what? Why? How come he can't just stay with me?" Luis asked.  
"Mr. Mendoza, you are seventeen years old. You have school. In all truthfulness, you are not fit to care for a four-year-old boy. He will remain in the orphanage until someone adopts him. But we will check on him every week." Then it was over. Time to go back to school. Without Matthew. Luis stood up quickly.  
"Wait! Can he at least stay one more night with me?" The judge surveyed him carefully. Matthew was standing with him, pleading with the judge with those big green eyes.  
"Yes. But someone will come to pick him up tomorrow at 7." Luis took Matthew's hand and they walked out together.  
"Weese, will you still teach me hockey?" Luis stared at Matthew for a minute. His eyes were starting to prick, and he blinked away the tears. Matthew needed him to be strong.  
"Yeah. Of course I will, buddy."  
  
When Matthew and Luis walked out of the courtroom, the team was waiting. They tried to console Luis, but he wouldn't look anyone in the eye. Matthew was leading him by the hand, because tears were blurring his vision. They stopped and waited for the Eden Hall driver to pull the car around. Luis leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and sighed. After several steadying breaths, he felt maybe he could hold himself together. At least long enough to escape to his dorm. If his mother were here, he would probably be crying his eyes out, just because she would hold him and let him cry. But she couldn't afford to fly out, so she was waiting for his call.  
Through the ride back to school, Luis was silent. A few Ducks tried to strum up a conversation, but he wouldn't speak. When Bombay had put a hand on Luis's shoulder, he almost lost it right there. But if he started, Luis knew he'd never stop; just stand there bawling in the middle of the courtroom. So he clenched his jaw and turned away, shut everyone out, and channeled all his energy on making his last night with Matthew a good one. He had to go to practice, he decided, after seriously thinking about skipping it. Matthew had told him he liked watching. So that was an hour and a half gone. Then, they were going to the public rink to teach Matthew to play hockey. But how would he fit that around dinner? They could go after dinner, but that would only leave an hour before Luis's personal curfew. He sure picked a heck of a time to let his grades slip.  
"Luis, come here." Orion said in firmly. Luis was considering just walking out of the rink. He could not take anything more. "Are you okay? You're lagging behind everyone, you're not focused, and you're not goofing off. If I've learned anything, it's that a Duck who isn't fooling around has something on their mind."  
"We had the hearing today." Orion nodded. "I'm not in any trouble or anything, but, Matthew. He has to leave tomorrow morning. And I'm gonna miss him," Luis added softly.  
"I know this must be hard," Orion sympathized. "Do you want to take off?" Luis considered it, he really did. But then Matthew called out,  
"Weese! Get back onna ice!" in a very commanding voice. It actually pulled a smile out of Luis. He shook his head to Orion and said,  
"Sorry, but I'm gonna be in big trouble if I don't get back to practice." And he skated off, leaving Orion standing there, wondering if this could possibly be the same kid as the Luis Mendoza he knew.  
  
"Okay, Matty, now this is the stick, and this is puck," Luis explained as they walked out to Luis's car. He was laying down some fundamentals.  
"Yeah, okay," Matthew said impatiently. "When we gonna play?" Luis  
laughed. "We have to get to the ice first!"  
"Luis! Hey, Mendoza, wait!" Luis turned, startled to be pulled out of his lecture on hockey equipment. Jesse was running towards them with a package in his hands.  
"Jesse! What are you doing here?" Luis was turning the package over, wondering what it could be. It was pretty big. Big enough to be--  
"I stopped by to give you something. Well, to give him something, actually. Cause, ya know, I never got to get to know the little squirt." He shoved his hands into his pockets.  
"Thanks," Luis said. "Here ya go, Matty. It's for you!"  
"Thank you," Matthew said shyly. He ripped into the brown package paper and gasped. Luis smiled. There was a little pair of skates, some hockey pads, a puck, and a stick. All were just Matthew's size.  
"Thanks, man. How'd you get all this stuff in his size?"  
"Oh, well, Charlie just sorta guessed. Lucky guess, huh?"  
"Yeah, I'll say." Matthew was putting the pads on while they were talking. Then he waited eagerly for them to finish.  
"Weese, let's go! You gotta teach me hockey!" Luis laughed and allowed himself to be pulled to his car.  
"Well, I gotta get home for dinner. I'll catch up with you later, aright?"  
"Yeah man. Bye." Luis turned to Matthew. "Well, someone is a little impatient, aren't you?" Matthew just grinned.  
"Come on Weese we gotta hurry!" After a little teasing where he pretended he didn't want to go to the rink, Luis relented and got in the car.  
"Come on, Matty. I'm waiting for you!"  
  
"Skate towards me. Yeah. Okay, now shoot! Yeah!" Luis may have intentionally let the puck slide past him, but he pretended it was just Matthew's skills. "You're awesome, Matty!" Matthew smiled. Unfortunately, Luis's watch beeped. That meant it was eight o'clock. They had to get back to his dorm in a hurry. And they only had eleven hours left together.  
  
Okay, we're getting close to the end. Maybe three or four more chapters! After this one I'm going to start another story. It won't have anything to do with this but it will be another Luis fic. So I like Luis, is that so bad?? Anywayz, thanks to those who have reviewed! Keep 'em coming cuz you know I love reviews! 


	8. Fighting For Matthew

Matthew was gone.  Matthew was gone and Luis felt like someone had blown a hole right through him.  He blew off his classes and drove around for a while.  He didn't care if got suspended, benched, or even kicked off the team.  He just wanted Matthew back.  He parked on a hill over looking a beach. **(I don't know where they are—are they in Minnesota?  Well let's pretend there's a beach somewhere)** He just sat there, thinking.  His dad had died when Luis was seven, but he'd still had his mom.  She'd done everything right—she signed him up for sports, Boy Scouts, everything all the other boys his age were doing.  And when he'd been too embarrassed to talk to his _mother_ about girls, she enrolled him in one of those programs that gave kids a father figure.  He hadn't like that very much, because it felt like the guy was trying to be his dad.  He'd never had a lot of friends; he'd always shut people out because he didn't want to talk about his dad.  Luis had immersed himself in hockey because he and his dad had played hockey most.  It had been his dad's favorite sport.  And Luis had always wanted to be just like his dad.  While he was sitting there, thinking of his dad, he broke down and cried for the first time in about nine years.  Without a dad, he'd looked to TV for guidance, and had decided hockey players definitely didn't cry.  But now, with his world swirling around him, going up in smoke, there didn't seem to be anything else to do.

At the orphanage, Matthew was playing in the street, fully suited up except for skates.  He was practicing shooting his puck into an old shoe when the 'orphanage lady' came out.  The orphanage lady was actually a man, whose real name was Mr. Hanners.  He wasn't very nice, but he wasn't really mean, either.

"Matthew!  What are you doing?" he asked in his screechy voice.

"Playing hockey."

"And where did you learn hockey?"

"Weese taught me," he said.  He started trembling, because Mr. Hanners had that look on his face that told him he was about to get in trouble.

"Hockey is a violent sport and I will not allow it in my orphanage!"

"B-but, it's Weese's game—" He broke off when Mr. Hanners yanked the hockey stick out of his hands, pulled off his pads, and snatched up his puck and skates from their resting places in the street.  But he screamed when he was thwacked over the head with the skates.  Blood trickled down his forehead and he crumpled into a little ball on the sidewalk.  Mr. Hanners could tell he was about to black out, and set to the tiresome task of calling an ambulance.  He distinctly heard Matthew call out weakly,

"Weese."

"The dean needs Luis Mendoza in his office," a runner from the office said as he burst into the rink during practice.  "He said it's _urgent_ and to come quick."  Luis's heart sank.  He just knew he was going to get in trouble for skipping all his classes before lunch.  And though his mom knew he was in pain, she would not accept the fact that he was in trouble _again_.  He never used to get in trouble, now he was in and out of the dean's office every other day it seemed.

"Look, sir, I can explain, it's just that—" Luis stopped after seeing the look on the dean's face.  Somehow he could tell this wasn't about ditching school.

"It's Matthew," the dean said.  Panic rose in Luis's stomach, and he interrupted the dean in a squeaky voice.

"What?  Where?"  He was yelling now.

"Calm down, son!  He's in the hospital-" Luis's mouth went dry, "Because he had some sort of accident.  Head wound, he lost a lot of blood.  So the driver is going to take you to see him.  You're certainly in no shape to drive yourself."

Luis didn't even change out of his hockey pads; he just rushed into the school van and begged,

"Please, hurry!  We have to go fast!"  There was a memory haunting him—the one where Matthew had woken up screaming.  Matthew had asked Luis to protect him, and Luis had promised.  _I promised!  I didn't keep it very well.  This is all my fault._

"I need to see Matthew."

"Matthew who?"  The admitting nurse didn't even look up, just kept filing her nails.

"I don't know his last name.  He's a little boy, four years old, here for a head wound."  She sighed and set the nail file down.  She still didn't look at him, but at least she was making herself useful.  Every _clickety-clack_ of the keyboard made his heart jump higher in his throat.

"Mm-hmm.  Sorry, he's on family only."

"I am his family!"  She snorted.

"Kid, you didn't even know his last name!"

"He doesn't have any other family!  He's an orphan and I'm here to visit him so you'd better tell me where he is, lady!"  Luis had never heard the threatening tone in his voice before Matthew came, but it had entering his conversations more and more.  He was willing to threaten anyone who stopped him from being where Matthew needed him to be.  The nurse looked up at him and suddenly blushed.  She was maybe two or three years older than he was.  And if there was one thing he knew how to do, it was to flirt his way to what he wanted.  She had given him permission, really, when she'd blushed.

"Couldn't you make an exception?  Just this once?"  Luis had never been more disgusted with himself than when he heard the purring note in his voice.  She was about to open her mouth when he shook his head.

"No, this is wrong.  I'm not gonna flirt with you just so you'll tell me where Matthew is.  But listen."  He decided to go for the sincere approach.  "This little kid means more to me than anything.  Please, can't you let me see him for a minute?"  The nurse bit her lip.  Luis actually felt a little proud of himself.  He had not manipulated her, lied, or flirted to get what he wanted.  He'd simply laid his cards on the table and asked a favor.

"Well, it's not often that we get a sweet, caring guy in here.  I've never heard anyone say that a kid was the most important thing in there life.  So—room 456.  Fourth floor, ICU, third from the left."  Luis thanked her fervently, and as he ran to the elevator, he knew she'd still probably only told him where Matthew was because she wanted to get on his good side.  He didn't really care, though.  His mood had lifted a little, just because he'd done something real for once.  But the storm clouds descended again when he saw the sign on the elevator: OUT OF ORDER.  USE ELEVATOR LOCATED IN EAST WING.  Curses rose in his throat, but he pushed them away.  Instead of running all the way to the other side of the hospital, he sprinted around, looking for the stairs.  He couldn't find them anywhere, so he dashed to the nurse again.

"Where are the stairs?" he asked determinedly.  She pointed wordlessly to a door he had overlooked in his terror run.  He didn't even thank her this time; he was on a mission and was losing precious time.  Matthew was in intensive care, and Luis couldn't afford to waste time being polite.  He darted up the stairs two at a time.  He'd blown more time trying to take three all at once, since he was too short and ended up tripping and sliding down a few stairs.  Finally he found the door marked FOURTH FLOOR: ICU.  He found the right door and exploded into the room.

"Matthew!" he gasped.  The bed was so big compared to Matthew's tiny form.  There was a white bandage wrapped around his head, and there was a large red stain in the middle.  At the sound of his name, Matthew's closed eyes fluttered open.

"Weese," he murmured.  "I knew you'd come."  His voice was wispy and raspy.

"Of course I'd come, Matty."  Matthew nodded happily.  His eyes couldn't seem to focus on one thing clearly.

"Weese, can I have a drink?"  Matthew's lips were really chapped, and his little tongue kept darting out to wet them, to no avail.

"Sure, but just a little one."  Luis couldn't remember, but there was a snatch of memory from health class where his teacher was talking in a reedy voice saying something about someone with a concussion not eating or drinking.  Or maybe it was they could drink.  But did Matthew have a concussion?  Just to be safe, Luis would only dribble some water into the corner of Matthew's mouth.  After a few drops, he pulled the water away.

"Matty, what happened?"  Matthew started quivering.

"The orphanage lady hit me inna head.  And it hurt."

"Hit you with what?"  A big ball of anger was threatening to break free from Luis, and the only way he could think of to stop it was to keep talking to Matthew.

"My skates."  Matthew started crying.  "And she took my hockey stuff.  I was just playing, like you showed me, and she came out and started yelling, and…" Luis listened quietly as the whole story tumbled out.  "…And then, I woke up and I was in a big loud truck and I kept asking where you were and no one would talk to me, they just told me to lay down and sit still!"  Luis could only imagine how traumatizing it must have been.  A little boy, four years old, suddenly waking up in an ambulance where he didn't know anyone and no one would answer his questions.  Matthew had suddenly quieted, and Luis took the opportunity to say,

"Matty, I'm so sorry."  Matthew's eyes went wide.

"Why?"

"Well, I promised you I'd protect you, and then I let this happen."

"Weese, it's not your fault!  They were gonna take your hockey away, so I had to go back, and you were at school, so you couldn't come save me.  But you're here now, Weese, and I feel better now!"  Luis ruffled Matthew's hair affectionately.

"You're so awesome, Matty, ya know that?  You're the most forgiving guy I know."  Matthew probably didn't understand what 'forgiving' meant, but he sure got the part about being awesome.  He grinned his little lopsided grin and said seriously,

"You're very giving too, Weese, and I think you're cool.  Bobby said all old people are mean, but I told him you were nice."

"You told him I wasn't mean but you didn't bother to tell him I'm not old?"  Luis asked incredulously.  "Well, I don't know how I feel about that!"

"But, Weese, you _are_ old!  You're so old you can drive!"  Matthew said innocently.

"That's it, you know what you get for that?"  Luis splayed his fingers in a fierce attack look.  "You get tickled!"  Matthew shrieked.

"I don't think so.  I'm afraid this little guy can't have a tickling right now."  Luis jumped at the sound of an unfamiliar voice and turned to see a doctor standing in the doorway, smiling at them.

"So, you know-" he checked his chart.  "Matthew?"

"Yeah, I do."  Luis didn't know how to explain it, since he didn't know if the doctor had heard the story.  But suddenly a comprehensive look passed over him and he asked,

"Are you, uh, Weese?"

"Yeah, that'd be me.  My name's Luis Mendoza."  He said with a laugh.

"Oh, I see."  The doctor walked over to the bed and Luis moved out of his way, taking a seat in a chair by the bed while the doctor checked Matthew over.  He shined a light in Matthew's eyes, making Matthew flinch and squirm.  He caught Luis's eye and Luis asked him,

"Matty, you gotta hold still, man.  Can you?"  Matthew nodded and relaxed against the giant bed.  But he still made a face when the doctor pressed the cold stethoscope against his back.

"Well, everything seems okay, as okay as can be expected."  He turned to Luis.  "Do you have any idea how this happened?  He had a gash about a foot long.  Had to get fifteen stitches."  Luis winced.

"Uh, yeah, he got hit with, with an ice skate."  The doctor looked astonished.

"How on Earth did that happen?"  He turned suspicious.  "Isn't that hard to do on accident?"  Luis cleared his throat and sort of tilted his head back and forth.

"Well, sir, it wasn't exactly an accident."

"How—"

"Matthew's kind of had a hard life.  And there's an orphanage director I need to have a word with."  Matthew suddenly broke in.

"Can I have some food?  I'm really hungry."  Luis looked at the doctor.  The doctor deliberated, then said,

"Well, Matthew, I don't think so.  Not until tomorrow, okay?  We don't want you to throw it up."

"Okay," Matthew said sadly.  To cheer him up, Luis said,

"Hey, Matty, how about tomorrow morning I bring you breakfast and toys and stuff so you won't be bored?"  Matthew's face brightened.

After Matthew was asleep, Luis left.  He had to get back to school.  But he didn't have the driver take him to Eden Hall.  He went to Fourth Street Home, Matthew's orphanage.  It was about 7:30.  Now, Luis went to Fourth Street fully expecting a woman.  Matthew had called Mr. Hanners the orphanage lady, and no one had told Luis anything different.  So suffice it to say he was pretty surprised to find a guy with week old stubble on his chin.

"Hello," the guy said welcomingly.  "I'm Mr. Hanners.  How can I help you?"  This surely couldn't be the same guy who hit Matthew over the head with a pair of ice skates.

"Uh, yeah, I'm looking for the orphanage—director," Luis said nervously.  What was he going to say to this lady?

"Oh, that's me.  Won't you step into my office?"  Luis just stared at Mr. Hanners for a minute.  Finally he pulled himself together and followed Mr. Hanners into the little room.

"So, what can I do for you, young man?"  Luis decided not to beat around the bush.

"My name is Luis Mendoza."  Luis stopped at the look on Mr. Hanners's face.  Clearly, Mr. Hanners had been told about Luis.

"What are you doing here?  You're supposed to stay away from here."

"Actually, no one said that.  But I'm here because you are, are," Luis couldn't think of anything to say, so he had to settle for, "you are a very bad man."  Well.  That surely struck fear into the guy's heart.  "I don't know if you've hurt any other kids, but you hurt Matthew.  And that's bad.  So, um, you, uh—" Luis couldn't think of anything else to say.  Luckily, or unluckily, he didn't have to say anything, because right then Mr. Hanners stood up, walked around the desk, and punched Luis squarely on the jaw.  At first, Luis was too stunned to do or say anything.   But then his instincts kicked in, and he popped one right back at Mr. Hanners.  They found themselves in an all-out brawl.  Luis was a lot smaller than the bear-like Mr. Hanners.  But Luis had rage on his side.  Unfortunately, rage wasn't enough, and Luis found himself running out of that office as fast as he could.  Which was pretty fast.  Not to be completely defeated, Luis turned and yelled,

"You can expect someone coming by to relieve you of your job!"  Then he hightailed it out of there to the Eden Hall van.

"Luis, you're bleeding!  What happened?"  The team was crowding around him, examining his bruises.

"Umm, I had a little chat with Mr. Hanners.  He's the director of the orphanage."  Luis knew they had demanded the dean tell them were Luis was, so they already knew Matthew was in the hospital.

"He was the one who hurt Matthew, wasn't he?"  Adam asked.  His intent gaze was locked on Luis, who just nodded.

"Dude, that was no chat, you got a beating!"  Trust Portman to be blunt with the obvious.

"I got a few good punches in," Luis said weakly.

"Go to the nurse!  You look like you're gonna pass out!"

"I think at one point he may have grabbed a pen off of his desk and jabbed me with it."

"That would explain the gash on your cheek.  That guy must be brutal!"

"Those poor kids!"  Connie cried.

"Hey, can somebody gimme the phone?  I have a call to make."  Before anyone could move, there was a knock on the door.  Luis turned to see who it was and gasped.

"What are _you_ doing here?"

**What a dumb ending, I know.  But I couldn't think of any other way to end it, so yeah.  Don't forget to review so I will know if I should just forget it and give it up now!  Oh, and I have no idea about all this medical junk.  I'm just writing!**


	9. Changing World

          "Is that any way to greet your mother, Luis Mendoza?"  She held out her arms, and Luis jumped up and gave her a hug.  She held him at arm's length to examine him and froze.  "What happened to you?"  Luis turned away and swiped at his bleeding lip.

          "Nothing.  I'm fine," he mumbled.

          "Luis.  Look at me.  Oh, just look at that, you're bleeding!  And you're probably going to have a black eye.  Now, tell me: _what happened_?"  Marie Mendoza was using her no-nonsense voice, the one that commanded a response, no questions or arguments.

          "It's…well, ok.  See, ya know how I told you about Matthew?  Well, he was in the hospital because the orphanage director guy hit him in the head with an ice skate, and, well—"

          "_Luis_!"  His mother groaned.  "You went to that fool didn't you?  How could you be so stupid?"  Luis hung his head.

          "I'm sorry, Mom.  But he hurt Matthew!"  Marie smiled ruefully.

          "Well, I guess I can't be too mad at you for wanting to help someone you care about.  But take me to this orphanage guy.  I have a few things on my mind I'd like to share."

"Uh, Mom, how about not.  See, you're kinda…small, and he, well, he looks like a flippin' rhinoceros.  So, why don't we just hang low for a while, let the police deal with him."  Marie glared at her son.

"Excuse me?  Luis, I am your mother, and when I tell you to do something, I—"

"Mom!  You're right.  You're my mother.  And maybe I gotta do what you tell me sometimes, or maybe most of the time.  But when it's a matter of taking you to some psycho who beats up little kids for kicks, I'm not gonna obey you.  Sorry, but it's not an option."

"All right, fine, but I'm going to do something."

"Mom, how did you get the money to come down here?  And when do you have to leave?"

"Well, I just took a few extra shifts at the diner when I heard about the whole Matthew thing, because I knew you'd need me."  She was conveniently not looking at him.

"But, I only told you like, a week ago.  How could you get that much?"  Luis wasn't the least bit uncomfortable knowing his friends were working out the fact that they had never had tons of money.

"I, well, I just had to sell a few things."

"A few things like what?"

"Like…the car," Marie finally admitted.

"Look at the time!  Ducks, we better get to bed.  See ya Luis.  Nice to meet you, Mrs. Mendoza."  Then they were gone, and Luis and Marie barely noticed.

"Mom!  What about when you get home?  How're you going to get to work?"

"I'll work something out with Linda, okay?  Luis, leave the worrying to me, please.  I'm the mother.  I can take care of myself, okay?"  That's when Luis realized how worried she actually was.  So he gave his mom a big hug.

"Thanks, Mom.  I'm sorry I'm such a bother.  I always seem to get in trouble, huh?  Like that time in third grade when I broke three windows and you had to work four extra shifts everyday for a month to pay them off.  I'm such a bad son."  Luis usually hated self-pity.  But now he was drowning in it.

"Luis, you're not a bad son.  And you're definitely not a bother.  If you were, I'd have gotten rid of you a long time ago.  Just because you're a little…over-expressive doesn't mean you're bad.  All right?"

"Okay.  Can we stop the mushy stuff now?  The teams right outside the door listening."

True to his word, the next morning, Luis took Matthew breakfast and the toys they'd bought together.  Matthew hadn't been allowed to take them with him, because Mr. Hanners said they'd make the other kids jealous.  He probably just didn't want the kids to be happy.

"Hey, Matty!  How're you doing today?  Are you feeling any better?"  Matthew nodded.

"Weese?  Who is that?"  Matthew whispered.

"This is my mom, Matty.  Mom, this is Matthew."

"Hello, Matthew.  Does your head hurt?" she asked sympathetically.

"Yes.  It hurts…badder than yesterday."

"What?"  Luis asked.  "Did you tell the doctor?"

"Yes, he did."  The doctor strolled in.

"You need to start warning people before you come in!"  Luis, once again, had forgotten everything else besides Matthew.  "Umm, so, why does his head hurt more today?"

"Well, yesterday, I think he was a little numb.  He didn't quite feel the pain because he was in mild shock.  But today, he is perfectly aware, therefore he can feel all of the pain.  I just came to slip him some pain medication to him."  After he did whatever, he left, and Luis helped Matthew sit up so he could eat.  After they were done, Luis regretfully told Matthew,

"Hey, bud, I gotta get to school.  I'll come back right after practice, okay?"  Matthew nodded.

"Weese?  When I'm better, can we play more hockey?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Well, you know what?"  Marie broke in.  "Why don't I keep you company for a while, Matthew?  We can get to know each other better."

"Okay," Matthew said uncertainly.  Luis leaned over to whisper in Matthew's ear.

"Whatever she says or promises you, don't tell her the name of the place you used to live or the name of the orphanage guy, okay?"  Matthew nodded.  "You have to pinky swear."  They linked pinkies and shook on it.

Luis was sitting in math, zoning out.  Suddenly, the bell rang shrilly and startled him out of his stupor.

          "Mendoza, please come see me," the teacher said.  _Crap!_  Luis had thought he'd been doing better.  He'd turned in all his homework for the last week and a half.  That had to be a record.

          "Luis, your grades are looking a lot better!  You haven't missed an assignment in almost two weeks.  If you get a B on Monday's test, your grade will be up to a C+.  Keep it up and you'll be back to basketball anytime."

          "Uh, hockey, actually.  Thanks, though."  As he left the classroom, Luis felt happier than he had in weeks.  Then the Matthew situation came crashing down on him.  Matthew was going to be released from the hospital at three o'clock the next day.  And he was going to have to go back to Fourth Street Home, with Mr. Hanners.

          "Yes, I'd like to file a complaint."  Marie Mendoza waited as she was put on hold.  She was talking softly, because Matthew had fallen asleep.  After about five minutes, someone finally answered again.

          "What is the name of the establishment?"

          "Fourth Street Home."  Matthew had kept his promise and not told her anything.  But, not to be easily beaten, she'd sneakily checked his charts and boom! She found the name.

          "What is the complaint about?"

          "The director of that place is brutal.  He has sent twelve children to the hospital in the past two months."  Marie knew she'd have to have proof, so she'd casually asked the doctor if he treated lots of kids from Fourth Street.  Most of her information had come from him.

          "Do you have the name of the director?"  The lady's nasal voice was grating against Marie's ears.

          "Well, all I know is his name is Mr. Hanners."

          "Ah, yes."  There was the sound of someone tapping the keys of a keyboard.

          "Now, we just need one name to complete this.  A child in the hospital currently, and why he is in the hospital."

          "Matthew.  Matthew, uh," she glanced at the chart again.  "Matthew Tylers.  He was hit in the head with an ice skate."

          "Okay.  Now, I need your name, and your current residence, so somebody can come by and question you."

          "My name is Marie Mendoza, and right now I'm staying in the West Side Motel, room 172."

          "Okay, thank you."  Marie looked at Matthew, sleeping so peacefully, a lock of blond hair brushing across his freckled face.  Marie had absolutely fallen in love with this little boy.  She could see why Luis had felt protective.  The door suddenly burst open, and the son in question torpedoed his way into the room.

          "Matty, guess what?  Oh, he's asleep.  Well, I guess I could tell you, Mom.  I swung by the orphanage, and they arrested Mr. Hanners!  They're getting some one new, and they said they're going to check the new person every week and talk to the kids and stuff.  Isn't that great?"

          "Yeah, that's awesome, honey," Marie said with a secret smile that her somewhat unperceptive son didn't catch.  Matthew's eyes fluttered.

          "Weese?"

          "Hey Matty!  Guess what?"

          "What?"

          "Mr. Hanners is gone!  If you go back there, there's going to be someone else to take care of you!"  Matthew smiled.  He was looking better everyday, and returning to his old self.

          "Good!"  He yelled loudly.  Luis laughed and started tickling him.  Marie watched them wrestle and listened to Matthew's shrieks and Luis's laughter, and an idea popped into her head.  An idea she immediately liked and thought about long after they stopped playing around.

"Where's Weese?  He said he was going to come," Matthew whispered.  He wasn't as shy as he used to be, but right now he was whispering because he was afraid he wouldn't get to see Luis for a while.  

Luis was supposed to hang back, allow Matthew to adjust to the new orphanage director before he started hanging out with Matthew again.  He wasn't supposed to go to the orphanage, call, write, or basically contact Matthew in any way.  For a month.

"I don't know, honey," Marie answered him.  "I'm sure he'll be here soon.  He wouldn't want to wait two weeks without saying goodbye."  Right then, Luis pulled up in his car.

          "Sorry I'm late, Matty.  I had to talk to my coach to get out of practice."  Matthew ran into Luis's arms.  All too soon, the new orphanage director came to get Matthew.  Her name was Mrs. Smith, and she was a small woman, seemingly nice.  Luis didn't trust her one bit.

          "Matthew?" she said gently.  "It's time to go."  Luis gave him a last squeeze, then pulled back from him.

          "Bye, Matty.  I will see you in exactly two weeks."  Matthew nodded bravely and walked over to Marie.

          "Bye bye," he said.  "Thank you for bringing me food."  Marie hugged him and brushed away a tear while several ran down Matthew's cheeks.  He didn't want to go with this strange lady.

          "Good-bye, Matthew."  Matthew walked toward Mrs. Smith, but turned and fled back to Luis.  Luis held him tight for another minute or two.

          "Matthew, you have to go," Luis said.  Now Luis was crying, too.  "It'll go fast.  Be good, okay?  And be nice."  Matthew nodded, his freckled cheeks tearstained.  As the car pulled away, Luis stood rigidly and watched. No tears now.  No words, either.  He just stood there, arms at his sides, head down, silent and broken.

          **Okay, two chapters left.  The next one is going to be the month that they're not allowed to see each other, and the last one is the epilogue.  Hope you like it!**


	10. Losing the World

"Luis, you've skipped three classes this week already, and it's only Wednesday. If you skip anymore, I can't guarantee that you'll be allowed to play hockey at all the rest of the season. But if you don't skip anymore this week, you'll be able to play in Friday's game. You're grades are up to Bs. Good work, son!" The dean didn't even seem to notice that Luis really didn't care. He had to endure a month without Matthew. And what if Matthew was adopted during that month? No one would tell him, and he would never see Matthew again.  
"Luis? Luis! You need to get back to class now. Good luck on Friday." Luis got up and walked out of the office. Making his way down the empty halls, Luis looked out the window. The weather matched perfectly his mood. There was no rain, it wasn't really freezing; it was just sort of.blank. Nothingness. No emotion in Luis or in the weather.  
At lunch, Luis didn't join in the babble at the Ducks table. He knew the team was worried about him-they'd told him numerous times. But he couldn't bring himself to care. Part of him was grateful that he had such good friends, but mostly he was tired of being asked if he was okay. That was the most he felt these days. He was tired of everyone bugging him. Tired of people talking to him. Tired of people asking him to go out and do something. And all of him was weary. He didn't sleep at night, because if he closed his eyes, memories popped up.  
"Luis?" A tentative voice asked. He looked with blank eyes at Ken. "That was the bell. It's time to go to class." Without a word, he got up and walked to his locker. There was a flurry of activity all around him, kids trying to get to class on time, talking, laughing, with no worries. And looking around him, Luis felt an indescribable anger at all those normal kids. How could they be so alive when he felt so dead inside, so hollowed out? Why did he have to feel like this? Most of all, why did he have to stay away from Matthew?  
  
"Mendoza, get out there!" Luis was sitting on the bench, not paying attention to the game. When he heard Orion tell him to go in, he stood up wordlessly and hit the ice. Talking took too much out of him these days. Interacting sapped him of energy. People had started avoiding him, anyway, because his lack of emotion unnerved many. As he moved further inside his head, it occurred to him that people didn't really know him. They only knew the part of him that was happy, light, flirting non-stop. No one except his mom knew his darker, depressed side, and she was back in Miami. The last time Luis had felt this alone was after his dad died. He hadn't missed the feeling.  
"MENDOZA! HEAD IN THE GAME!" Orion was getting very ticked at Luis. Some guy had just whizzed by him with the puck and he hadn't even blinked. So Luis skated hard after the player and caught him easily. But since he wasn't focusing, he overshot and blew right by the kid. He finally got the puck and passed it to Dwayne; thankful when Orion called him back to the bench. Do Dwayne and Luis ever play at the same time?  
"Luis, I know you're having a hard time. But if you're going to play for me, you've got to get in the game.  
"Sorry," Luis mumbled. For the rest of the game, he sat with his head down and could barely make himself participate in the little team huddles. Ten minutes after he went back to his dorm, he couldn't remember if they'd won or lost.  
  
"Luis, honey, are you doing okay?" Marie was on the phone with Luis. He'd barely said two sentences, and every question got a toneless, one word answer.  
"No," he admitted. He almost said more, but that pretty much summed it up.  
"Luis." She was so worried about him. She'd gotten used to her cheerful, carefree son. He had fallen back into his gloomy, depressed version. She knew he couldn't just pretend to be okay when he was hurting so bad, but she just wished he would get out and do something. "Mom," he interrupted. "I know what you're going to say. It's only a month, not forever. I'll see him again. But you know what? I don't want to hear it and I don't feel like talking."  
"Okay. But just listen for a second, okay? I know you're in pain, and this is hard for you. But look, Luis. Staying in your room moping all day isn't going to pass the month sooner. Go to class, do your homework, go to practice, and please, please, please go out and have fun with your friends. You'll feel better, I promise."  
"Yeah. Listen, I have to go. My long-distance time is almost up."  
"Okay. Think about what I said. I love you."  
"Love you too." He hung up and just sat on the end of the bed. Josh was out doing who knows what, so he had the room to himself. Usually, he welcomed the silence, the sweet simplicity of being alone with his thoughts. But he could've used a distraction. Because now it wasn't just pain from losing Matthew. He'd never dealt with his father's death, and now, since he was already down, his mind decided to throw that at him, too. He curled up in a ball and just drowned in misery.  
  
At Fourth Street Home, Matthew hadn't taken off Luis's jersey for three days. He'd been allowed to keep all the toys Luis had bought him and his hockey gear from Jesse.  
"Why does your shirt say Mendoza?" A boy named James asked.  
"Because. That's Weese's last name, and this is his jersey," Matthew said proudly.  
"Why are you wearing it? Did you steal it?"  
"No! Weese gave it to me."  
"How stupid. Who wants a dumb hockey jersey?" James was about nine, and for the last few months he'd taken a lot of fun in torturing Matthew.  
"I do," Matthew whispered. He should've kept his mouth shut. James grabbed the jersey and tried to pull it off Matthew. But Matthew was not the same kid that James had bullied anymore. Instead of just crying, he got angry. And now, when he got angry, he didn't just cry frustrated tears. He took action.  
After the whole Cole incident, Luis had taught Matthew some fighting moves.  
"You can't always get away with kicking someone in the shin," he'd said. "So I'm going to show you some stuff."  
When James came after him, Matthew gave him a left hook, a right hook, and a punch right in the face. Mrs. Smith ran in then and pulled them apart.  
"Matthew! What is going on?!"  
"He was trying to take my jersey!" Matthew said. He was trembling.  
"Is this true?" Mrs. Smith had turned to James, who looked like he'd had his face rearranged.  
"N-no! I w-was just asking him if I c-could see it and then he attacked me!" James was a sniveling, lying, coward. But he was pretty crafty.  
"Matthew! Honestly, I don't know what gets into you kids!" She grabbed a fistful f the jersey and pulled Matthew up the stairs to his room.  
"You stay in here, young man, and you'll have no dinner tonight!" Matthew curled up under his covers and cried, not knowing Luis was doing almost the same thing at that same time.  
  
"Matthew?" a hesitant voice asked. It was Mr. Smith, Mrs. Smith's husband. He was much nicer than Mrs. Smith. Sniffling, Matthew got up.  
"Yeah?"  
"Are you hungry? I brought you some dinner," Mr. Smith held out a sandwich and some crackers.  
"Thank you," Matthew whispered.  
"So what happened with James?"  
"He tried to take my jersey!" Matthew wailed. "And Weese gave it to me, and now I can't even play with him anymore, and I just wanted to be like Weese, and everybody was being so mean!" Mr. Smith's brow wrinkled.  
"Why can't you play with him anymore?"  
"I don't know! They just said I couldn't!"  
"They who?" Mr. Smith knew the whole story, but he wanted to hear Matthew's point of view.  
"The old man in the blue dress! And I thought boys aren't supposed to wear dresses!"  
  
The next morning at breakfast, Luis picked at his food. The pain had deadened to a sort of dull ache in his heart and he found himself easily disturbed. As usual, Goldberg was complaining about Eden Hall's awful food. Today's main entrée was an oatmeal-like substance that brought the word gruel to mind.  
"What is gruel, anyway?" No one had an answer for him. But Luis thought of one while he was walking to his first class. Gross and cruel! He started busting up like he was the funniest guy in the world. Since he hadn't had a good laugh for almost a week, he couldn't stop cracking up. It felt so good that he could even overlook the strange glances being thrown his way.  
  
~*A Week Later*~  
  
Dwayne was partnered with Luis's roommate, Josh, for a project in science, so Luis was seeing more of Dwayne in his room. That's how Dwayne answered the phone when the call came.  
  
"Hey, I'm gonna take a little walk," Luis mumbled, grabbing his jacket and slipping quietly out the door. Dwayne watched him go with a worried glance, but Josh seemed oblivious that anything was wrong. After working for about ten minutes, the phone rang. Josh was in the bathroom, and Dwayne debated whether or not to answer it. He decided it wouldn't hurt if he did.  
"Hello?" Dwayne didn't know if he should say, like 'dorm number 273' or something like that. So he just went with a simple hello.  
"Is this Luis Mendoza?" The voice on the other end was really deep. "No, he's not in right now. You want me to take a message?"  
"Well.yeah, sure. Just tell him Matthew Tylers was adopted."  
  
"Hey, Luis, I need to talk to you," Dwayne said after practice later that day. He'd wanted to talk before or even during practice, but Luis had seemed so happy. He still hadn't said much, but his game was back to 100%. A smile had even slipped out.  
"Sure, Cowboy, what's up?" Luis had gotten into the bad habit of looking at his feet while talking, so as not to show any excess emotion. Add that to the fact that lately he'd been mumbling, it got pretty hard to hear him. Especially in the noisy locker room. "Umm, while you were taking your walk, there was a phone call for you, and, uh, I answered it." Dwayne expected Luis to break in, but he just went on getting dressed, listening quietly, not seeming to care. "It was about Matthew." That got Luis's attention. His head snapped up, and a half scared, half hopeful expression crossed his face. "He, well, Luis.Matthew was adopted." It was like a hammer blow. Luis blinked a few times, then just sort of gaped at Dwayne. "The guy I talked to didn't say where, but I know it must've been far. He said something about the plane leaving tomorrow at noon, and he wouldn't get there until four." Luis finally found his voice. "Adopted?" He squeaked in the loudest voice he'd used in two weeks. The locker room went silent and everyone looked at Luis. "I'm sorry, Luis," was all Dwayne could think of to say. "Adopted?" Luis repeated. Apparently that was all his brain could come up with. He was frozen in one spot, hadn't moved for at least a full minute. He hadn't even blinked. "Yeah. The guy, um, did say that it was some one Matthew really liked." "Great." Luis whispered. His brain wasn't really on the same page. He was still stuck back at 'adopted' and couldn't seem to pull himself out.  
  
Okay, that's the end of this chapter. You probably already know what's going on.anyways, the last chapter is coming soon. It took me a long time to write this one because I couldn't decide if Luis should spend the whole month brooding or start to get over it or what. 


	11. Life Acquired

I'm sorry if the end, or the whole chapter even, is really cheesy. Expect a really Disney ending. Well, I guess it fits, since MD is Disney. Oh, and this chapter is going to be REALLY short.  
  
"Matthew. It's time to go."  
"But Weese isn't here yet," Matthew said, reluctant to leave without saying good-bye.  
"Well, you have to go! Your new family is waiting at the airport and the plane comes in an hour. They asked if you could be there early for some reason. So you'll just have to call him or something." Mrs. Smith was one thing Matthew would not miss. She wasn't mean, she didn't hit any of the kids or yell a lot, but she just didn't understand kids. Or any humans, really. Come to think of it, she didn't understand any animals, either. She just wasn't a very understanding person. And even though Mr. Smith was very kind, he didn't dare defy his wife to her face. He was nice to the kids, but only when she wasn't around, or when she wouldn't get mad about it. So he wasn't really a whole lot of help.  
Matthew knew nothing of his new family except he'd met them before and he had to ride a plane to get there. This was unusual, every other time he'd had to go live with the people before they could adopt him. A/N: I have no idea about adoption laws or anything like that. But not them, obviously. Mrs. Smith wouldn't even tell him they're name.  
Matthew started to head out the door, but he was so scared that he just froze. How many times had he dreamt about this moment, when he would wave good-bye and ride off and lice happily ever? Except now, no one was waving to him. No one was going to miss him. Several kids had told him that. He'd never thought he'd be sad to get adopted. But it was scary. He didn't know where he was going, who he was going with, or if these people would like him. Matthew's mind kept coming up with this vision of coming back to the orphanage with a note taped to his head that said,  
  
Dear Mrs. Smith, We don't want him! We told you to send us a good one, and this is what we get? We're never adopting any one from your orphanage again if this is the kind of riff-raff you're going to send us! We don't need our real kids mixing with that sort.  
Sincerely,  
  
The Family that hates Matthew  
  
"Matthew, come on! Quit dreaming and lets go," Mrs. Smith called impatiently.  
"Coming," he whispered back. No one heard him, and no one in the orphanage cared in the slightest.  
  
Luis was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to ignore the annoying fact that his friends were trying to cheer him up. How could anyone cheer him up in a time like this? It was impossible. Besides-for all the great accomplishments the Ducks could brag about, they weren't great at helping a guy through his problems.  
"Hey, it's not the end of the world or anything like that."  
"Moping isn't going to help, you know."  
"Why don't you just call the freakin' orphanage and find out where you can visit him at?!"  
"Just find a girl. That usually helps with everything else you're going through. And you'll definitely get a few with the whole sad, moping thing going on." Averman earned himself an elbow in the ribs from the others and a glare from Luis for that one.  
"Luis, look at it this way," Russ said desperately. "At least now he won't get beat around! Well, if this new family is good, that is." Somehow, this did not comfort Luis very much. A knock shattered his thoughts. Sighing, he wearily heaved himself off his bed and trudged over to open it. "Mom? What are you doing here?" "I came to tell you something very important. And there's some one you need to talk to." A small blond figure came running down the hall. Luis's heart jumped to his throat, and he almost cried when Matthew jumped into his arms. "Weese!"  
  
And they lived happily ever after! Had to say it. Okay, I know that was a slightly Monsters, Inc. ending. But anyways. Thanks to those who reviewed this one, there weren't many, but hey. Sooo, tell me if maybe I just go back to reading or not. I might not listen to you, but if you feel strongly enough about it, it's gotta be worth a try, right? My next fic is coming soon (that sounds really stupid) and yes, it's about Luis, because Mike Vitar is really hot and he's a great actor! 


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